Lawyer outlines possible penalties in Cities Church anti‑ICE protest case
Federal prosecutors have charged 39 people, including former CNN host Don Lemon, under the FACE Act and the Ku Klux Klan Act for disrupting a Jan. 18 service at Cities Church where the pastor is an acting ICE field director, with DOJ vowing criminal prosecutions, making multiple arrests and holding arraignments. Defense lawyer Melvin Welch says many first‑time defendants could face misdemeanor‑level exposure (potentially zero to six months) but that prosecutors must prove specific intent to intimidate or forcibly disrupt worship; defendants have been released on bond with no‑go conditions and several have retained high‑profile counsel.
📌 Key Facts
- On Jan. 18 protesters interrupted an active Sunday service at Cities Church in St. Paul — chanting, confronting congregants and allegedly blocking exits — targeting Pastor David Easterwood, who activists say is the acting ICE field office director for Minnesota; protest leaders included Nekima (Nekiva) Levy Armstrong, Monique Cullers and the Racial Justice Network, who have publicly demanded Easterwood’s resignation.
- Former CNN host Don Lemon livestreamed the protest, is among the defendants charged in the case, has been arraigned and pleaded not guilty, and has retained high‑profile defense counsel including former acting U.S. Attorney Joe Thompson (and Abbe Lowell).
- The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and the FBI opened an investigation and federal prosecutors — with public statements from U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi — have vowed to press charges, framing the action as an attack on a house of worship.
- An initial indictment charged nine people (including Lemon, Nekima Levy‑Armstrong and St. Paul School Board member Chauntyll Allen) with counts such as conspiracy to deprive rights, violations of the FACE Act (interfering with religious worship), and charges under the Ku Klux Klan Act; the indictment alleges congregants fled in fear and includes accounts of a child fearing for their parents’ safety.
- DOJ later unsealed a superseding indictment adding 30 more defendants — bringing the total federally charged to 39 — and Bondi said 25 of those 30 had been arrested; two additional arrested individuals named in coverage are Ian Davis Austin and Jerome Deangelo Richardson.
- All 39 charged defendants who have appeared in court were released on bond with conditions (including orders to stay away from the block where Cities Church sits) and have pleaded not guilty; a motions schedule and an initial trial window were set for late summer 2026.
- Legal significance and defense arguments: prosecutors’ use of the FACE Act’s religious‑worship provision is a rare — and possibly precedent‑setting — criminal application (past criminal FACE prosecutions mostly involved reproductive‑clinic actions); defense lawyers emphasize the government must prove specific intent to intimidate or forcibly disrupt worship, argue potential First Amendment protections (noting Lemon’s journalist status), and contend DOJ may be overreaching by deploying KKK Act–style civil‑rights tools against anti‑ICE protesters.
- Potential penalties and wider context: a defense attorney noted many first‑time defendants could face misdemeanor‑level exposure (potentially 0–6 months) if prosecutors treat their conduct as lower‑end FACE violations; the case has drawn reactions from Christian and other religious leaders urging protection of worship without disruption, highlighted internal congregation tensions, and prompted at least one pro se civil lawsuit by a church member seeking damages for emotional distress and interference with worship.
📊 Relevant Data
In June 2020, 10% of Black adults reported attending a protest focused on race or racial equality, compared to 5% of White adults, 9% of Hispanic adults, and 10% of Asian adults, indicating higher per capita participation rates among Black adults in such protests relative to their 13% share of the U.S. adult population.
Amid protests, majorities across racial and ethnic groups express support for the Black Lives Matter movement — Pew Research Center
Minnesota's large Somali community, consisting of over 80,000 individuals who are predominantly Black immigrants, arrived primarily through federal refugee resettlement programs, and recent ICE enforcement actions have targeted these resettled refugees, contributing to anti-ICE protests in the state.
Refugees relive the trauma they fled as ICE targets them in Minnesota — NHPR
Black Americans accounted for 17% of attendees at protests focused on race or racial equality in June 2020, compared to their 11% share of the U.S. adult population, showing overrepresentation in participation.
📰 Source Timeline (14)
Follow how coverage of this story developed over time
February 28, 2026
2:56 AM
Lawyer speaks on potential charges for St. Paul church protesters
New information:
- All 39 charged defendants who have appeared in court were released without having to post monetary bail but must stay away from the block where Cities Church sits.
- Defense attorney Melvin Welch says many first‑time defendants could see misdemeanor‑level exposure with potential penalties from zero to six months if the government treats their conduct as lower‑end FACE Act violations.
- Welch stresses that to win FACE Act convictions prosecutors will have to prove specific intent to intimidate or forcibly disrupt religious worship, not just generic protest activity, and suggests Don Lemon may have a somewhat stronger First Amendment defense as a working journalist, though he still faces the same statute.
February 27, 2026
9:19 PM
30 more charged for protesting at Twin Cities church where pastor is ICE official
New information:
- Confirms that an additional 30 people have now been charged in connection with the Jan. 18 protest at Cities Church, bringing the total to 39 defendants.
- Details that the new defendants are being charged under the same federal statutes used against the original seven, including the FACE Act and the Ku Klux Klan Act.
- Clarifies that DOJ views the action as a coordinated conspiracy to interfere with religious worship and parishioners’ rights because the pastor is an acting ICE official.
6:43 PM
St. Paul anti-ICE church protest: 30 more people indicted
New information:
- DOJ has unsealed an indictment charging 30 additional people related to the Jan. 18 anti‑ICE protest at Cities Church in St. Paul.
- Attorney General Pam Bondi says 25 of the 30 newly indicted individuals have already been arrested, with more arrests expected.
- This brings the total number of people federally charged in connection with the church protest to 39 (9 previously charged plus 30 new defendants), all under the FACE Act and KKK Act framework.
- Bondi issued a political statement framing the case as the DOJ 'standing for Christians and all Americans of faith' and warning, 'YOU CANNOT ATTACK A HOUSE OF WORSHIP.'
- The story notes, alongside the new indictments, that church member Ann Doucette has separately filed a pro se civil lawsuit seeking damages for alleged emotional distress and interference with her religious worship.
February 13, 2026
10:24 PM
Don Lemon, Cities Church protestors plead not guilty in federal court in Minnesota
New information:
- Don Lemon, Nekima Levy Armstrong, and six other defendants formally appeared before U.S. District Judge Eric Tostrud in St. Paul and all pleaded not guilty to federal charges arising from the Jan. 18 protest at Cities Church.
- The indictment lays out specific counts for different defendants, including conspiracy against rights, FACE Act violations for interfering with religious worship, disorderly conduct in a restricted area, and obstruction of law enforcement during a civil disorder.
- Judge Tostrud allowed all eight defendants to remain free on bond with conditions, set a motions schedule and an initial trial date window in late summer 2026, and heard an early defense argument that DOJ is overreaching by using Ku Klux Klan Act–style civil‑rights tools against anti‑ICE protestors.
- The article adds detailed narrative of the protest inside Cities Church, including chanting during services and alleged blocking of exits, drawing a sharp public response from Pastor David Easterwood and congregants, and notes outside legal observers warning the case could test the line between protected protest and unlawful interference with religious practice.
12:06 PM
Don Lemon in court Friday in connection to St. Paul anti-ICE church protest: What to expect
New information:
- Confirms Lemon and other defendants will be arraigned Friday at 1 p.m. in federal court, marking their first appearance on the charges.
- Restates and consolidates the specific federal counts: conspiracy to deprive rights and interfering with religious freedoms under the FACE Act.
- Clarifies the list of other charged local figures expected in court Friday: Nekima Levy Armstrong, St. Paul School Board member Chauntyll Allen, William Kelly, Ian Davis Austin and Jerome Deangelo Richardson.
5:10 AM
Journalist Don Lemon set to be arraigned in St. Paul church protest case
New information:
- Confirms that former CNN host Don Lemon is set to be arraigned in St. Paul federal court on charges tied to the protest inside Cities Church.
- Clarifies scheduling and procedural details for Lemon’s first appearance/arraignment separate from the broader group of nine co‑defendants.
- Locally sourced piece emphasizes the Minnesota angle and courthouse logistics around the arraignment.
February 10, 2026
11:52 PM
Don Lemon hires former MN prosecutor Joe Thompson to help fight church protest charges
New information:
- Don Lemon has retained former Acting U.S. Attorney for Minnesota Joe Thompson — who resigned after refusing pressure to investigate Renee Good’s widow — as part of his defense team in the St. Paul church protest case.
- Lemon faces federal conspiracy and FACE Act charges tied to the Jan. 18, 2026 anti‑ICE protest inside a St. Paul church where Pastor David Easterwood is also the acting ICE field office director.
- Thompson, until weeks ago the senior federal prosecutor in Minnesota and lead on Feeding Our Future, will now be opposing the same U.S. Attorney’s Office that indicted Lemon, working with high‑profile defense lawyer Abbe Lowell.
- This case is the DOJ’s first known criminal prosecution using the religious‑worship side of the FACE Act since it was passed in 1994, making it a potential national precedent for future protest‑inside‑church cases.
February 02, 2026
5:58 PM
St. Paul church protest: 2 more arrests made in MN
New information:
- Confirms that the two additional people federally arrested Monday are Ian Davis Austin and Jerome Deangelo Richardson, both already named in last Friday’s indictment.
- Spells out that all nine defendants — including Nekima Levy‑Armstrong, Chauntyll Louisa Allen, Don Lemon and Georgia Fort — are charged under both the FACE Act and the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871.
- Explains that DOJ has essentially never before brought a criminal case under the FACE Act’s religious‑freedom section, making this a landmark prosecution; past FACE criminal actions focused on reproductive clinics.
- Details from the indictment’s narrative — including prosecutors’ claim that congregants fled in fear and a child reportedly wondered if their parents "were going to die" — which DOJ will use to justify applying the FACE and KKK Acts here.
- Reiterates that President Trump recently pardoned two dozen protesters previously convicted under FACE for clinic actions, underscoring the political context surrounding this new use against anti‑ICE activists.
2:27 PM
LIVE UPDATES | ICE in Minnesota: Pam Bondi announces additional arrests in church protest
New information:
- U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced two additional arrests in the Cities Church protest: Ian Davis Austin and Jerome Deangelo Richardson.
- Bondi publicly framed the case with the warning, "If you riot in a place of worship, we WILL find you," signaling DOJ’s posture toward future church‑based protests.
- The same live‑updates piece reiterates that ProPublica has identified Border Patrol agent Jesus Ochoa and CBP officer Raymundo Gutierrez as the shooters in the Alex Pretti killing, which DHS has still not confirmed.
January 20, 2026
11:31 PM
Activists call for Cities Church pastor to resign over ICE leadership conflict
New information:
- Confirms and amplifies that community activists, led by Nekima (Nekiva) Levy Armstrong and Monique Cullers, are publicly demanding that Pastor David Easterwood resign from Cities Church because he is allegedly the acting ICE field director for Minnesota.
- Provides detailed quotes from Armstrong and Cullers framing Easterwood’s dual role as a moral and theological conflict, not just a political one, and describing ICE operations as 'terrorism' incompatible with ministry.
- Clarifies that DOJ’s Civil Rights Division is actively investigating the Sunday protest at Cities Church for potential FACE Act violations, focusing on whether protesters illegally disrupted worship.
- Notes that Cities Church has now posted a formal statement responding to the protest and criticism (though the text is only referenced here, not fully quoted).
January 19, 2026
10:26 PM
Christian leaders urge protecting worshippers’ rights after protesters interrupt service
New information:
- The piece reports statements from Christian and other religious leaders in Minnesota urging that, whatever people think of immigration enforcement, federal authorities must protect the right to worship without disruption and avoid turning churches into proxy battlegrounds for ICE politics.
- Some interviewees distinguish between protesting outside versus interrupting an active service, warning that barging into worship crosses a line and risks FACE Act charges even when the target is an ICE‑linked pastor.
- The article notes concern among clergy that DOJ’s use of the FACE Act in this context could become a two‑edged sword—chilling direct‑action tactics against officials who hold dual roles in churches and government, while at the same time setting clearer boundaries around sanctuaries—including mosques and synagogues—during this ICE surge.
- It adds context on how the congregation is responding internally (calls for de‑escalation, some members supporting the pastor’s federal role, others uneasy about the church being tied so closely to ICE), which wasn’t in the initial law‑enforcement‑centric coverage.
1:41 PM
DOJ vows to press charges after activists disrupt church where Minnesota ICE official is a pastor
New information:
- DOJ officials are now publicly vowing to pursue federal charges against activists who disrupted the Cities Church service, not just ‘review’ the incident.
- The article more clearly frames the legal basis as potential violations of the federal FACE Act and related statutes protecting access to religious services.
- It adds additional detail on federal rhetoric, casting the action not only as a civil-rights review but a likely criminal case, raising stakes for local protesters.
1:47 AM
Protesters interrupt St. Paul church service, citing pastor’s ICE ties
New information:
- Confirms that protesters interrupted an active Sunday service at Cities Church in St. Paul, chanting and confronting congregants specifically over pastor David Easterwood’s alleged role as ICE’s acting Minnesota field office director.
- Details that protest leaders, including Nekima Levy Armstrong and the Racial Justice Network, framed the action as targeting a church they say is ‘harboring’ the official overseeing ICE raids that are ‘wreaking havoc’ on immigrant communities.
- Reports that Don Lemon livestreamed the protest, Pastor Jonathan Parnell denounced the disruption as 'shameful' and told Lemon to leave unless he was there to worship, and that DOJ Civil Rights and the FBI have formally opened an investigation under the FACE Act and related statutes.
January 18, 2026